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He grabs my hand and pauses with it in front of his lips. “My only wish would be that you could see yourself the way I see you. You’re honestly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known, Kit. I wish you could see that… Don’t sabotage us, okay? We can be amazing together. Don’t cheat us both out of something good. Just enjoy it with me, yeah?”
He’s right. He’s absolutely right. I smile and nod, and he lets out a deep breath. “Thank God, I was ready to take you back to my house to fuck you into submission.” He bites my hand, and I screech out a laugh when his teeth tickle my skin.
We pull onto my street minutes later, and as soon as Jimmy’s Jeep comes into view, my breath rushes from my lungs. Of course it’s here. He’s here with Jack, but oh my God, he’s going to be ruthless with this walk of shame stuff.
But it gets worse. So much worse. Casey’s hatch is there too, and a third strange truck. Bobby laughs with recognition. “Shit. Looks like we get to run the gauntlet straight out of the gate.”
“Oh God. Whose truck is that?”
“It’s Jon’s. Guess he came looking for Jimmy and me…” He shrugs. “Actually, he probably came looking for Tink.” He looks at me from the corner of his eyes. “It’s okay, he won’t give you trouble, I promise. Jimmy’s your only problem. Ever.”
Little does Bobby know I secretly enjoy Jimmy. Most of the time. But maybe not today.
Bobby parks the Rav in the driveway and pulls the keys from the ignition. “Are you ready?”
I feel a little ridiculous, since this is my house. If anybody inside wants to tease me, I’ll kick their ass. Well, that’s not true. But still, that’s the attitude I’ll go in with.
“Ready.” I lean across the seats and kiss him with more heat than Saturday morning in public calls for. I try to pull back, but he laces his hands in my still damp hair and pulls me in for more.
“Mmm, that’s better.” He nips my lip. “There’s my warrior princess. Go inside with that attitude. Show ‘em who’s boss, baby.”
He climbs out and jogs around to my side of the car, and automatically throwing his arm over my shoulder, he erases any worry I had over touching versus keeping distance. We’re going in guns blazing, I guess.
We climb the front steps and I unlock the front door, then we step into a silent house. Considering there are so many people here, the silence scares the hell out of me.
We walk through to the kitchen to find Jack, Jimmy, and Case sitting at the table, and Jon standing at the stove. Pancake batter simmers in the air, but everything feels awkward. Everyone just stares in silence. Except Jack; he won’t look up from his plate at all.
“Walk of shame,” Jimmy coughs obnoxiously.
Everyone stands by to watch Jimmy die. The guys are speechless. Bobby vibrates with a pending beatdown, but what kind of best friend would Casey be if she didn’t help throw me under the bus?
“Bobby?” She stands from her chair and walks closer. Bringing her fingers up, she strokes his neck. “Did she…” She frowns in thought. “Did she bite you?”
Jimmy howls and holds his stomach.
“You’re a bunch of jerks,” I grumble, but I’m smiling anyway. Stupid funny jerks. “Whatever, assholes.” I wave them off and walk to the coffee pot. If I’m going to put up with these asses, then I’m going to need more coffee.
“Listen to the sass in this one!” Jimmy complains. “Mom would never call us such vulgar names.”
“That’s just not true,” Bobby laughs. “She has, she does often.”
“Whenever I imagined getting a baby sister, she never spoke to us like that. She made cupcakes and looked all cute and shit.”
I turn from the coffee pot with narrowed eyes. “You sound like you’ve put a lot of thought into this, Jimmy. Did you not have friends when you were a kid? Lots of spare time?”
“The sass! So much sass. Whatevs, princess.” He walks by and slaps my ass with a stinging crack. “Go put some underwear on.”
My face burns brighter. He wins. He wins hands down, and when all else is lost, what does any self-respecting smart ass do when they have nothing else? I flip him off and sprint to the stairs with the sounds of laughter trailing behind me. Just as I reach the landing of my staircase, I hear a muffled thump.
“Ugh. The fuck, B?” And more laughter.
I snicker and walk into my room. I lost, but he still got hit. I call that a draw. Good enough.
Since I already showered, I search my closet for underwear and casual clothes. Finding a comfy pair of cut-offs and a gray tank, I strip off my dress and throw the fresh clothes on. Feeling much less conspicuous, I find socks and head down the hall to my bathroom to freshen up. I brush my teeth and braid my hair, then I swipe some mascara on and declare myself done.
On the way out, I pick up towels from the floor and throw them in the hamper with an eye roll. Walking down the stairs, I pick up discarded socks, another towel, two pairs of shoes, and a shirt. My friends chatter in the kitchen, and stopping at the bottom of the stairs, I listen to the smiles in the air. It’s been a while since I heard this in my house, and I realize that I want it back.
The stresses of the last few months have dulled my spark, but I won’t let that shit control me anymore. With my arms full of discarded crap, I step into the kitchen and stop to watch Jack pig out on empty calories.
